Freeport-McMoran Shows Its Mettle

Investors are digging the mining giant's second-quarter results—and for good reason.

The market was taking a shine to Freeport-McMoRan after the world's largest publicly traded copper miner announced better-than-expected second-quarter results.

Early Tuesday, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (ticker: FCX) reported earnings of $482 million, or 49 cents per share, down from $710 million and 74 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue fell 4.2% to $4.29 billion. However, those results topped analyst expectations for...